Alabama outbreak linked to pharmacy

The bacteria were found in bags used in intravenous feeding at six Alabama hospitals, state health officials said. STORY HIGHLIGHTSBacteria found in a bag in the pharmacy match bacteria in the blood of the victimsThe same bacteria were found on a water faucet in the pharmacyInvestigators' goal is to put together a probable chain of events (CNN) -- Alabama health officials seeking to find the source of bacteria suspected in the deaths of nine hospital patients and the sickening of 10 others announced Thursday they found the same bacteria in a pharmacy in Birmingham.

"Looking at the DNA fingerprints, that organism is an exact match of the organisms that the patients had, so we know it wasn't inserted after it left the pharmacy," Dr. Don Williamson told CNN.

The pharmacy, IV Meds, of Birmingham, had prepared the intravenous feeding solutions that were administered to all of the patients in six hospitals in the state. Bacteria in their blood matched bacteria in a bag of the suspect product found in the pharmacy, he said.

"Now it's just a matter of identifying the source of it from the pharmacy other than from the bag," said Dr. Mary McIntyre, a medical officer with the Bureau of Communicable Disease within the Alabama Department of Public Health. "That's still ongoing."

She said the same bacteria -- called Serratia marcescens -- were also found on a swab from a water faucet inside the pharmacy. McIntyre described IV Meds as a small business that had one full-time staff pharmacist. The company's website has been taken down and calls to the business have gone unanswered.

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